How Much Tech Should You Use?

Technology in the workplace is best when it’s unintrusive, easy to use, and actually helps you do your job. Either by doing things automatically, with more accuracy, or by unearthing insights you wouldn’t have known otherwise.

Robots aren’t going to take the human touch out of recruitment any time soon. But the emergence of new, useful tech will shine a light on the best and worst practices in our industry.

It’ll highlight which Recruiters are truly brilliant at their jobs. By streamlining the administrative parts of their role, giving them more time to be in their market. And by optimising and automating the systems they already use, keeping them a step ahead of their competitors.

On the other end of the scale, investing in technology can be expensive. And there’s no guarantee you’ll see ROI.

So how much tech should I use?

To begin with, I’d say all of it. Particularly if you work in tech.

Get your hands on as many free programs as you can. Then ultimately, you’ll only want to use the ones that make your work both easier and better.

What works depends entirely on the Consultant. A writing app’s not going to be of much use to a Contract Recruiter that spends all their time in meetings.

That said, for anyone looking to focus on their content, you’ll see the benefits of a writing app in your work immediately.

If it’s a good program. And if you’re using it properly.

So I cherry-picked some of the best Rec Tech from our Productivity Hack series that I believe would improve the output of any Recruiter.

Have a look through and decide for yourself whether any new tech’s worth investing in.

And with the exception of the last entry on this list, all the tech featured here’s either free or there’s the option of a trial period. Which means you could end up using some next level hacks today if you aren’t already.

If you’re one of those Recruiters who doesn’t know the difference between there, their and they’re, you need Grammarly.

It’s a free tool that quickly and easily makes your writing more effective. Eradicating spelling mistakes and making your copy easy to read. Better than a normal spellcheck on a word processor, Grammarly can even highlight correctly spelled words used in the wrong context.

There are two groups of Recruiters this hack will help.

Those that are either unable or can’t be bothered to learn English, despite it being their first language. And grammar-nazis who constantly gripe at the previous group for incorrect and lazy writing.

A major name in multi-platform social media management, Hootsuite’s also a dab hand at Social Listening.

Brands monitor online mentions of their name, their products, or their competitors, to see how they’re doing in the court of public opinion. You set up “search streams” that pull results from social networks containing whatever keywords you specify.

A practical way for Recruiters to make use of this is to track industry content.

Content marketing’s an excellent way to bolster your brand. Sharing the latest, relevant articles and writing pieces of your own to invite discussion can open a bunch of doors to new business opportunities.

And if you’re posting a lot, having an app that manages it could be really handy.

Hootsuite’s free for individuals and different pricing plans unlock additional functionality. It also has a pretty hefty App Directory.

Asana’s a project management tool which we use to stay on top of priority tasks at Hunted.

Map all of your processes – including every prep chat, interview and debrief – and visualise your workload in a clean, colourful interface.Everything’s drag and drop. You can work alone or in teams. You can even view all your tasks in a timeline to get on top of your day plan.

The Asana Chrome extension allows you to create a workflow from any web page and share it with team mates instantly. Tracking your progress against your targets is infinitely easier to do when your browser’s doing it for you automatically.

Whatever your stance on wearable tech, there’s something to be said for the ability to have continuous monitoring of your health.

In particular, the ŌURA ring, which is more accurate than any watch or bracelet due to the fact “your finger provides significantly more accurate tracking than your wrist’s veins.” The band has dynamic sensors directly on the top of your arteries. Meaning it’s highly intelligent, inconspicuous and more connected than anything you’ve worn before.

Do you want to sleep better? Perform to a higher standard at work? Achieve more in your physical or mental endeavours? The ŌURA ring could be for you.

So there’s jewellery that ensures you’re bringing a more health-conscious body into work in the mornings. And programs that correct your grammar without thinking about it or tell you how people have responded to your emails.

These are tools that would benefit any Recruiter.

Whether you embrace new technologies or you’re just curious about what’s on the market, take a look at our Productivity Hacks series for the best Rec Tech we could find.